The western coast of Scotland and the desolate Hebrides islands are the ancient home of the Howsedane family. Their name is derived from the medieval Scottish given name Hugh. Howsedane is a patronymic surname, which belongs to the category of hereditary surnames. In general, patronyms were derived from either the first name of the father of the bearer, or from the names of famous religious and secular figures. By and large, surnames descending from one's father's name were the most common. The surname also came from the place called Houston, near Glasgow. In Old English, the name Houston, meant the settlement belonging to Hugh.

Howsedane Early Origins

The surname Howsedane was first found in Renfrewshire (Gaelic: Siorrachd Rinn Frił), a historic county of Scotland, today encompassing the Council Areas of Renfrew, East Renfrewshire, and Iverclyde, in the Strathclyde region of southwestern Scotland, where they were descended from a Scottish knight, Hugh de Paduinan, who in 1165 founded the town of Houston in that shire.

Howsedane Spelling Variations

Howsedane Spelling Variations

Spelling variations were extremely common in medieval names, since scribes from that era recorded names according to sound rather than a standard set of rules. Howsedane has appeared in various documents spelled Houston, Houstown, Huston, Hueston, Hughston, Hughstone, Houstone, Houstowne, Houstoun, Huestoun, Huestown, Huestowne, Hughstoun, Hughstown, Hughstowne, MacHouston, MacHuston, MacCuiston, McCuiston and many more.

Howsedane Early History

Howsedane Early History

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Howsedane research. Another 321 words (23 lines of text) covering the years 1296, 1415, 1415, 1525, 1527, 1662, 1696 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Howsedane History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Howsedane Early Notables (pre 1700)

Howsedane Early Notables (pre 1700)

Another 47 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Howsedane Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Howsedane In Ireland

Howsedane In Ireland

Some of the Howsedane family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt. Another 145 words (10 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

The Great Migration

The Great Migration

The descendants of the Dalriadan families who made the great crossing of the Atlantic still dot communities along the east coast of the United States and Canada. In the American War of Independence, many of the settlers traveled north to Canada as United Empire Loyalists. Clan societies and highland games have allowed Canadian and American families of Scottish descent to recover much of their lost heritage. Investigation of the origins of family names on the North American continent has revealed that early immigrants bearing the name Howsedane or a variant listed above include: Alexander Houston settled in Grenada in 1776; James MacHouston settled in Georgia in 1734; Joseph McCuiston settled in Maryland in 1724; Thomas MacHuston settled in Virginia in 1655.

The Howsedane Family Crest was acquired from the Houseofnames.com archives. The Howsedane Family Crest was drawn according to heraldic standards based on published blazons. We generally include the oldest published family crest once associated with each surname.